Award Winning Smoked Brisket
Ingredients:
1 (7 pound) beef brisket (flat cut)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup Pork Barrel BBQ All American Spice Rub
1 bottle Pork Barrel BBQ Original or Sweet BBQ Sauce, for serving
5 chunks of hickory for smoking
3 chunks of oak for smoking
Method:
Place the brisket on a cookie sheet and pat the meat dry with a paper towel. Rub the brisket with extra virgin olive oil then rub Pork Barrel BBQ All American Spice Rub onto the brisket, covering the entire surface area of the meat. Cover the brisket with aluminum foil and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
While the brisket is sitting get the smoker or charcoal grill ready. We recommend you use 100% hardwood charcoal in lump or briquette form and we strongly encourage you to use a charcoal chimney to light the charcoal (stay away from lighter fluid if at all possible). The charcoal is ready to use when it has burned to a white ash. If you don’t have a smoker with a separate fire box you can use a grill (like a Weber Kettle) to smoke the brisket. If you are using a grill arrange the coals on one side of the grill so you can leave an area of the grill open to cook the brisket over indirect heat with no coals underneath it.
After getting the coals arranged place the lid on the smoker or grill and let it reach a temperature of 225 degrees. Once the smoker or grill has reached 225 degrees you are ready to place the brisket on the grill. This is also the time you will want to begin adding wood onto the coals (place 3 chunks of hickory and 2 chucks of oak on your charcoal at this time).
Keep an eye on the smoker or grill and make sure it maintains a temperature around 225 degrees. After the first hour add more coals if necessary and add another 2 chunks of hickory and 1 chunk of oak. Check on the coals ever 90 minutes adding more as needed.
When the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees (this will occur about 5 hours into the cooking process) wrap it in aluminum foil and return it to the smoker or grill. The brisket is finished when it reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees (this will occur about 6.5 hours into the cooking process). Remove the brisket from the smoker or grill and let it rest wrapped in the aluminum foil for 30 minutes.
Unwrap the brisket and slice against the grain. Serve with your favorite roll and Pork Barrel BBQ Original and Sweet BBQ Sauce on the side.
